Today we will be talking about carrying your brand from web to mobile. The fact is, more mobile devices are being sold daily than PC’s so the time is right for you to add mobile marketing to your marketing mix. Many people even believe that eventually mobile will replace PC’s completely. But, right now, you need to do both, so how do you carry your brand to mobile?
Since you only have a few seconds to keep a new customer interested, and more than 10 percent of site views are coming from mobile devices, it’s time to ensure that your website is mobile friendly.
There are two ways to accomplish this.
Create a Mobile Version of Your Site — You can create a specialized mobile version of your site that maintains the colors, look and feel, but is a trimmed down version that keeps your mobile user in mind in terms of aggravation and clicking to buy. Your mobile website does not have to be a copy cat of your traditional site.
Adopt a Responsive Web Design — Another way you can embark on mobile marketing is to redesign your website to be responsive. This means that when a consumer signs on to your site with any device the code recognizes the device and delivers the right sized screen and the right information based on the screen size being used.
How you proceed will depend entirely on your budget and your technological know-how. To create a mobile site that is user-friendly regardless of the method you use keep the following points in mind.
1) Keep Navigation Simple — If your user cannot get around your site with easy options to get them to the key features of your website, they will give up. Make it simple for them with big, bold navigation that easy to use.
2) Make Buttons Touch Friendly — Think about the fact that people are using their fingers to click. They aren’t using a mouse that has the ability to be very precise about where to point. You cannot shove choices close together. Rather, the buttons should be large, and easy to tap with a finger.
3) Offer Readable Text — A user should not have to zoom in and scroll all over the place to read your website or blog comfortably.
4) Pages Should Load Fast — Studies show that consumers are rather impatient when it comes to load times, allowing only two or three seconds before they go elsewhere. Ensure that you have fast loading mobile site to garner the best results.
I mentioned earlier that mobile adoption is spreading at eight times the rate of PC adoption. Because of this fact, it is imperative that you start thinking about how you will implement a mobile strategy today. If all you do is start with optimizing your website for mobile, that will be a great start.
Use Google analytics to determine what number of visitors are using mobile devices now to try to access your site. Take a look at what your site looks like on a mobile device right now. You might be surprised at the answer. If your site looks and works inefficiently on a mobile device you’re missing out on sales from the people who have tried to access your site with their mobile device.
Let’s look closer at three ways you can carry your brand to mobile right now.
1) Create a Mobile Friendly Website — I mentioned above that it’s important to optimize your site now for mobile technology. You can work this in one of two ways: 1) Optimize the site you have to become a responsive website or 2) Create a completely separate mobile friendly website that gives mobile users the same experience as PC users.
2) Location, Location, Location — If you have a local business that can benefit from location based marketing, get involved now. Claim your Yelp business page, claim your Foursquare business listing, claim your Bing business as well as your Google + Local page. By creating stand out profiles on these sites, along with having a mobile friendly website, you’ll grab the local consumer as well as those who are just passing through but looking locally for your type of business.
3) Survey Your Customers — If you’re not sure whether or not your customers are using mobile and are interested in a mobile version of your site, ask them. Conduct a survey using the technology you have now via social media, email lists, and on your website. The survey can also give your customers a chance to sign up for SMS or MMS while they’re at it.
If you’ve done a good job building your brand in the more traditional venues, then carrying your business to mobile should not change much about your image other than that you’ll appear more responsive to your customer base. Your look, the feel, and the content you offer will not change, just the ability for your customer to access you in a new way changes.
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